Cocktails on V-day: Poetry Slam

The first Valentine was a martyr. I’ll bet there are a lot of us who can identify with that guy when it comes to love.

But what *is* love? The dictionary says that the words love and belief have the same root. That root has something to do with what is ‘dear’ to us. Why do we love? Is it because as a species we know that it is the small acts of goodness and selflessness, outweighing the acts of destruction that keeps civilization from descending into chaotic violent narcissism? That on this swiftly tilting blue planet, shooting through space to destination uknown, we cling to each other for comfort? To know that we are ephemerons, our delicate lifespans briefer than a blink of God’s eye, full of intense beauty and bleak desolation, craving the union of another’s mind and body and spirit, to share the gray mists of morning on dewy grass or the dark quiet of the night until that final endless night.

Love, belief, union. These are things we hold dear.

Lift a glass of champagne to your nearest and dearest. Forgive your enemies. Love one another.

Here are the two poems that the BFF and I exchanged on our first Valentine’s day. Can you guess which was mine and which was his? Add your own in the comments.

anyone lived in a pretty how town

by E. E. Cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

Cascando

by Samuel Beckett

Cascando

1

why not merely the despaired of
occasion of
wordshed

is it not better abort than be barren

the hours after you are gone are so leaden
they will always start dragging too soon
the grapples clawing blindly the bed of want
bringing up the bones the old loves
sockets filled once with eyes like yours
all always is it better too soon than never
the black want splashing their faces
saying again nine days never floated the loved
nor nine months
nor nine lives

2

saying again
if you do not teach me I shall not learn
saying again there is a last
even of last times
last times of begging
last times of loving
of knowing not knowing pretending
a last even of last times of saying
if you do not love me I shall not be loved
if I do not love you I shall not love

the churn of stale words in the heart again
love love love thud of the old plunger
pestling the unalterable
whey of words

terrified again
of not loving
of loving and not you
of being loved and not by you
of knowing not knowing pretending
pretending

I and all the others that will love you
if they love you

3

unless they love you

DFA conscripted to work for Obama- Update

This is just wrong.

Two days ago, I got a call from Democracy for America (DFA) for a pledge of support. They wanted $120.00. When I joined DFA two years ago, it was in the service of helping Democrats take back congress and I worked for Linda Stender. Back then, DFA wasn’t in anyone’s pocket. We were all on the same side- againt the Republicans.

But this appeal to sign a petition to influence the Superdelegates is an outrage. First of all, the reason superdelegates exist is so that wildfire movements don’t end up nominating someone who supported by a bunch of overzealous maniacs in caucus states but not the faithful Democrats in the big states. You’d think that the Big D states should have a big influence but if they don’t, through some quirk of dumb planning or a party leader putting his thumb on the scales with all of his might, then the superdelegates step in to moderate the situation. That’s why they should be left alone. It’s one thing for a candidate to petition them for support but to insist that they give up their moderating power because the wildfire movement doesn’t like the role they play, that’s just wrong. If they vote in favor of the biggest most populated states, they have served their purpose.

Second, DFA is supposed to be a group dedicated to getting out the vote and this petition clearly shows that they are trying to GOTV for Obama. I expect them to be neutral and just a resource center for anyone who wants to work for any candidate. For Jim Dean to put the organization in the service of one candidate at the expense of another is an embarrassment and an outrage. Is it DFA who is behind all of the recent caucus stuff? Are they the ones getting the Obamaphiles to turn out and intimidate the regular Democratic voters?

It looks like the Dean brothers are putting all of their efforts to overturning the will of the Biggest D states in NY, NJ, CA, FL, MI, AZ and it has to stop. There’s People Powered Politics and then there’s Mob Rule. When the Unholy Alliance between the GOTV arm of the DNC is put into service to overturn the will of the people in our most densely populated states and they do by riding the relentlessly misogynistic bleatings of the media, they have become the Establishment that they purport to hate. There is nothing about Hillary Clinton that would make her a bad Democratic president. There is no reason to want to squash her candidacy except that the Deans and their friends want to be the kingmakers, over the dead bodies, if necessary. of the Democrats who have supported the party for years.

There are a couple things we can do about this. One, send letters to your state party chairman protesting the tipping of the scales. Two, register at DFA and shore up the Clinton GOTV efforts (if they exist) or create some in OH, WI and TX. Three, spread the word in every blog you can that the Deans are out of control. And finally, DON’T COBTRIBUTE TO DFA UNTIL THEY REMOVE THE SUPERDELEGATE PETITION. And by this, I don’t mean whenever the petition period ends. I mean, they have to take it down and retract the whole damn thing.

Update: We’ve had a comment from Ilya Sheyman of DFA. Oooo, that was quick. We must have struck a nerve. I’ll repeat what I told her in the comments. When DFA has a similar petition asking that the Florida delegation be seated, NOW, and that Michigan have a do-ever mail in primary instead of a caucus. we’ll call it even. Until then, DFA is using its GOTV power on behalf of Obama in order to stifle the superdelegates and they are misrepresenting the role of the superdelegates hoping no one will notice. I advise anyone who is a Hillary supporter to think carefully before they respond to a DFA fundraising drive since these funds appear to be directed to assisting Obama’s campaign at Hillary’s expense.

Very sad. I used to identify with these people but they’re not my peeps anymore if they are jumping on this bandwagon and expect all the rest of us in the reality based community to join them without question. That shit’s gotta stop.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Send Hillary a Dozen

I gotta confess, there’s nothing better on Valentine’s day than having the FedEx guy show up at the door.  I love the long box and the ribbons and the tissue paper and the unopened red buds all cool and fresh surrounded by snowy baby’s breath and glossy deep green foliage…  BFF is not a rose sender.  😦  He must think this is not important.  He is wrong.

Very, very wrong.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yeah!  I’m sure we could flood Hillary’s office with roses like we did Barbara Boxer’s a couple years ago:

But I’ll bet a dozen George Washington’s would go better with her smile.  And it’s a very affordable Valentine’s gift, don’t you agree?  $12.00 is a mere trifle really.  But if there are a lot of us sending her dozens and dozens, it would be a Valentine’s day to remember.  Hey, even two dozen is a bargain.

I know it’s the thought that counts but the actual gift would be put to better use.  Think about it.

Send Hillary a Dozen